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Kadyrov accused of murder in Austria

Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov ordered the kidnapping of a Chechen exile in Vienna in 2009, Austria’s counterterrorism department concluded. Kadyrov has denied any role in the killing of Umar Israilov, who was living in exile when he was fatally shot last year.

The Austrian government’s investigators concluded that Kadyrov ordered Israilov's kidnapping, and that the group of Chechens who tried to snatch Israilov from a Viennese street botched the job. One of them shot Israilov after he broke free and tried to escape.

The conclusions, which are based largely on circumstantial evidence, shift the focus now to Austria’s federal prosecutors’ office, which has been preparing indictments. A close Kadyrov aide, Shaa Turlayev, met with two of the suspects in the killing before Israilov was shot.